Score: B+

It’s great to have Dragonball back! Dragonball Super ended back in 2018, so it’s been a while since the last TV series. The movies have been good, but there’s something about Dragonball back on TV again that is just special. It’s such a good day for fans of the franchise anyways since the latest Dragonball game “DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO” also just came out and has been a monumental success. All of this of course is celebrated while honoring the legacy of Akira Toriyama who passed away earlier this year. The latest thrills of Dragonball are all thanks to the efforts he put in over many years.

Everyone looked cool in the flashbacks

I kind of appreciate that this show starts out with some recap and then using a kind of flashback machine to cover the Majin Buu arc. The Buu arc is particularly important to this story since it is focusing on the demon realm. And honestly there’s something that satisfies nostalgia in seeing classic DBZ moments with current day animation. Majin Vegeta just looked absolutely unhinged! I didn’t even mind rewatching various fights when they look this good! And they didn’t linger on anything for too long so I can’t even say that part of the episode dragged.

The good thing is that we know where this story is. I’m sure material covered where it was set anyways. But within the show they did a good job setting the stage. This is definitely post-Buu, but well before Super or even GT. While I think this is supposed to lead into Super, I can’t say for sure it does. And the reason for that is the Potara change. Instead of the Supreme Kai being fused with Kibito they are back to normal. And the explanation is that Buu’s body does seem to break down the Potara fusion. So unlike Super’s retcon it seems like it was less about time limits and more just how Majin Buu works. That does immediately make Potaras the best fusion though. A fusion that lasts as long as you need but can be undone via a quick Buu cleansing.

I can totally take this guy seriously…

It is funny how of course the start to this arc has some similarities to Dragonball GT. You have a small (and seemingly weak) villain with his followers gathering the dragonballs and ending up wishing Goku into childhood. The difference of course is that this wish was fully intentional and did target far more than just Goku himself. I get that these guys would be a bit freaked out. For them Dabura was a pretty big deal and he honestly is a minor antagonist in the overall Dragonball universe. He put up a good fight against SSJ Gohan in DBZ, but that Gohan was pretty rusty. It’s believable that Gomah would be concerned about the future. If the Z-fighters show up to reck his world that would be a pretty quick loss all things considered!

Wishing the main cast into children seems like a weird strategy. That kind of move only has a limited amount of impact. He buys a few years before they age right back into their primes. And honestly if they realize he did that they might be more likely to pay an aggressive visit! Now maybe his plan is to regularly wish them back to the age of children and keep them limited in that way. But Gomah said nothing like that. Heck, maybe his plan is to wish them into becoming children and then killing those children? He didn’t bring a hit squad though for that. At least he was smart enough to realize that the dragon probably wasn’t going to kill them just because this guy asked! I am curious what wish Degesu wants to use? Was his wish left unmentioned because someone else is going to steal it?

She’s got plans!

The wild card here is Doctor Arinsu. She seems more than willing to cross some lines for the sake of her research! It’s interesting that she visited Earth during the Buu saga and probably did something. I’m just not sure what her intentions are! All we know is that she visited Earth, Dabura as King was funding her research, and that Gomah is less keen on doing so. We don’t even know what her research actually is! And considering it is Dragonball…that research could be bad news. I mean Dr. Gero built both the Androids and Cell himself! Give people like that time and resources and they can make some truly nightmarish. And she’s not motivated to be loyal when Gomah is openly talking about cutting her off.

Happy birthday Trunks?

Trunks and Goten lose the hardest! They go from a pair of powerful people to just infants! Most of the cast are getting a decent deal out of this. Goku and Vegeta for example are losing decades of age. They won’t be at their peak for a few years considering how far Gomah aged them back, but they are going to be fine. Seriously, they just have to age back up and are free to get even stronger while waiting for that day.

But Goten and Trunks just get the miserable situation of going back to being babies. No idea what mental state they are going to be in! Things could get pretty weird though. I mean Gohan could be aged back to the same age as his parents!? What about Master Roshi? How far does this wish extend? I guess we’ll find out! But honestly for guys like Goku and Vegeta it’s hardly bad. They’ll gain decades of life that they can use to just keep on training!

Thank you, Akira Toriyama!

It’s fun to have DB back. Scenes like Goku and Vegeta “training” was just pure joy. A couple of Saiyans just having the time of their lives beating each other up! It was lighthearted though since neither turned into a Super Saiyan! The next episode will be crazy since the wishing has only just begun and we’ll soon see the effects of those wishes. I also think the creepy Namekian that Gomah brought along isn’t going to live long. I mean it’s possible he survives since generally the dragon balls effectively die with their creator. But having someone alive that can refresh dragonballs whenever. But I can’t say for sure what will happen. I definitely can’t guess what wishes will result in Goku feeling the need to invade the demonic realm! This was a perfectly solid start and I look forward to at least watching the next episode.